Tolkien 'almost became WWII code-breaker alongside Alan Turing'

New biopic apparently not titled 'Not Another F**king Elf'

A planned biopic on Tolkien is slated to cover his brush with life as a WWII code-breaker, a role he ultimately didn't take up.

The proposed film will attempt to show how his service as a soldier during WWI and other key events led the fantasy author to write The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Tolkien's time at Oxford University, including his friendship with fellow author CS Lewis, and his experiences during the Great War will the main focus of the movie, provisionally entitled Tolkien (and definitely not Not Another Fucking Elf - Ed). But the film, written by David Gleeson, may also touch on how Tolkien briefly trained as a code breaker during World War II, the BBC reports. Although Tolkien trained for three days with the top-secret Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) he never ultimately joined up even though a job offer was reportedly made. The GC&CS at Bletchley Park was where legendary boffin Alan Turing made his contribution to the struggle against the Nazis and the scene of early, groundbreaking developments in computing and IT.

Tolkien is described by Variety as been cast in the same mould as the the J.M. Barrie biopic Finding Neverland.

The Tolkien estate is jealous at protecting the famed author's legacy and previous projects connected with his work have either been long delayed or abandoned in production hell.

Tolkien fans can at least look forward to the second chapter in a three part film adaptation by director Peter Jackson of the Hobbit trilogy. The Desolation of Smaug, which is due to hit cinemas worldwide next month. ®